The Muscle Mounters Competition
by MWolfL
Summary: Larry starts occupying more of Sandy's time. This leaves her with almost no time for Spongebob, which slowly hurts him up to the point where he can't even work at the Krusty Krab! Will Sandy find out and heal him before it's too late? SpongebobXSandy
1. The First Two Rounds

Spongebob and Sandy were enjoying a day of karate, or as they sometimes like to call it kar-ah-**tay**! Sandy then noticed some of her fellow weight lifters excitedly heading for Goo Lagoon. Spongebob noticed Sandy noticing the excited weight lifters.

"Huh, I wonder what all the excitement is about?" Spongebob asked.

"Only one way to find out." Sandy smiled, running after the other weight lifters; Spongebob followed.

The two of them soon caught up with everyone at Mussel Beach, but couldn't see what they were crowding around.

"Hey, Don, what's with the commotion?" Sandy asked Don, an Orca.

"It's a sign-up sheet for the Muscle Mounters Competition, which is coming to Bikini Bottom next week!" Don said excitedly. "The winner will get a champion trophy and also get to star in the next Buffiano Bay movie!"

"Buffiano Bay?" Sandy gasped. "I love his films! Outta my way, I'm signing up!"

Sandy pushed her way through the crowd. A few minutes later she pushed her way back to Spongebob.

"I got my name on the list." Sandy smiled.

"That's great Sandy." Spongebob smiled. "Say, how about I be your coach and help you train? I can work the stopwatch and things like that."

"Why that would be sweeter than pecan pie of you." Sandy smiled. "Come on, let's head back to my place and start training!"

They ran to the Treedome, and started Sandy's training. They continued training throughout the week, except for when they had to sleep or when Spongebob had to work at the Krusty Krab.

The next week, Spongebob watched as Sandy and the others tried out. It was the first round of the competition, and the object of this round was to toss an anchor either to the length limit or past it. Obviously, Sandy was one of the ones who made it. Larry and Don were two of the others. After the competition, Spongebob went to congratulate Sandy. But, unknown to him at the time, someone beat him to Sandy.

"Say Sandy, you want to celebrate making it into the competition?" Larry asked. "We can go to the Chugboat."

"Sure Larry." Sandy smiled.

"Great, I'll meet you there."

Spongebob then approached Sandy.

"Congratulations Sandy!" He smiled.

"Thanks Spongebob."

"You want to celebrate at the Krusty Krab?"

"Sorry Spongebob, but I promised Larry that I'd meet him at the Chugboat, we're going to celebrate there." Sandy shook her head. "You're welcome to join us though."

"Nah it's okay, I haven't gone jellyfishing with Patrick at all last week and I should make it up to him." Spongebob shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow!" He waved as he left.

"Okay!" Sandy waved back.

The next day, the second round. This time the object was to handle the prepared barbells and then try to handle heavier weights on the barbells. Sandy and Larry both made it again, and Larry again beat Spongebob to inviting Sandy to celebrate. Spongebob brushed it off like before since he needed to help Mr. Krabs with his Krusty Krab food stand. See that's why Mr. Krabs let Spongebob go to the competitions instead of work, he had taken advantage of the crowds by setting up a Krusty Krab stand near the competition (not too near since he didn't want to risk getting hurt by a stray weight). During the first round business was slow so Spongebob didn't need to help, but now the Krusty Krab stand was getting more customers and Mr. Krabs obviously needed help so he rushed over.


	2. The Third Round and a Discussion

The third round was pulling an anchor chain down until the boat got close enough to the ground to pass. Sandy and Larry again made it to the next round. Also again Larry beat Spongebob to Sandy, even though Spongebob tried inviting Sandy before the round even started. This time Spongebob was disappointed, but he let it go since Mr. Krabs needed help again at the stand. It became quite a riot since the crowd didn't want to miss a moment of the competition and yet were really hungry, so you can just imagine how tired Mr. Krabs and Spongebob were at the end of the day (Squidward wasn't there, he was taking advantage of the competition by vacationing at home).

"Blow me down, that was the biggest riot I ever had to handle." Mr. Krabs slouched as he and Spongebob walked back into town; even though he was so tired he couldn't help but crack a joke: "I'm poop-decked."

"Good one Mr. Krabs." Spongebob chuckled a little. "Yeah, I'm beat too. What say you skip the stand tomorrow and stick with the restaurant? We both could use the rest."

"*Urgh*, I'd hate to say it but I think you're right." Mr. Krabs winced at the thought of not getting as much money as they got today. "Okay, I'll let Squidward know his vacation is over and we'll both run the restaurant tomorrow."

"Need me too?" Spongebob asked.

"Nah, with most of Bikini Bottom at the competition we'll only get a few customers." Mr. Krabs shook his head. "Besides, I know how much you want to see Sandy perform." He winked.

Spongebob blushed.

"What are you talking about?" He stammered.

"Aw come on matey, I've seen how you act around Sandy." Mr. Krabs smiled. "You've even looked happier with her than you do when you're at the Krusty Krab. You really like her don't you?"

Spongebob sighed.

"Yeah, but she could never like me back...not that way anyway."

"Why not? I still remember the time she went nuts when you ran out on her and she thought something horrible happened to you. It was kinda disturbing actually."

"Disturbing?" Spongebob frowned.

"Yeah, some of us got badly hurt looking for you and she didn't even seem to notice."

"Oh."

They reached Spongebob's house.

"You should tell her how you feel lad." Mr. Krabs said. "Okay, I'll admit I'm not too trustworthy of land mammals, but as far as they go Sandy's been a good one."

"Mr Krabs, do you remember the time you first tried to ask Mrs. Puff out on a date?" Spongebob looked at him sternly.

"Er...yeah." Mr. Krabs rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"I'm even worse when it comes to Sandy."

"Oh." Mr. Krabs thought for a second. "Well then you got me. See ya later Spongebob."

"Bye Mr. Krabs." Spongebob sighed, heading for his front door.

When he got inside he was greeted by Gary.

"Meow." Gary said.

"Gary, you know it's impolite to eavesdrop." Spongebob frowned.

"Meow."

"No Gary, as I told Mr. Krabs there's no way I can tell Sandy my feelings."

"Meow."

"Gary, please, I'm too tired to argue."

At that, Spongebob headed to bed.


	3. Sandy Finds Out the Truths

The next day, the competitors now were going head to head to see who could push these heavy boulders to the finish line. Sandy came in first and Larry came in second, though it was really close. This time, Spongebob actually saw Larry invite Sandy out. Larry was being flirty, and Sandy was smiling at him, causing Spongebob to be crestfallen. He left without even congratulating Sandy. Sandy wondered what had happened to Spongebob, but didn't have time to look for him before the party. When the party was over, it was late at night so Sandy knew that Spongebob was in bed and figured that she would be able to ask him where he went tomorrow. She was right, but only half-right.

The fifth day of the competition, the competitors now had to race with an anchor strapped to their backs. Sandy and Larry made it to the next round of course, but this time Spongebob wasn't there. Sandy figured that Mr. Krabs forced Spongebob to work at the Krusty Krab so she just shrugged it off. The sixth day, Spongebob wasn't there again. Sandy still thought that he was being forced to stay at the Krusty Krab so she wasn't worried. In this competition, the contestants had to use martial arts to fight each other. Sandy and Larry now were the last two competitors. Larry invited Sandy to celebrate again, and she agreed, but not as pleasantly as before. After Larry walked Sandy home...

"I've had a great time with you this past week Sandy." Larry smiled. "Maybe we can do this after the competition...with more hanging out and less partying?" He suggested as he kissed her hand.

Sandy looked at him with surprise, then with realization.

"You have feelings for me don't you?" She guessed.

"Well, you are the strongest creature under the sea." Larry smiled, gazing at her adoringly. "In fact you're the only one ever to impress me."

"Sorry Larry, but look for someone else." Sandy shook her head.

"But..." Larry was shocked. "But I am the strongest sea creature in Bikini Bottom, not to mention that I am a gentleman. What more could you want?"

"Larry, I don't care about strong muscles when it comes to a guy. In fact there are two things I care more about than strong muscles:" Sandy said. "A strong brain, and, more importantly, a strong heart. And I happen to know someone else with a very strong heart, stronger than yours."

"Oh." Larry was disappointed.

"Hey, we can still be weightlifting buddies." Sandy smiled. "And you'll find someone, just someone else. Good-night Larry."

"Good-night Sandy." Larry left as Sandy entered her treedome.

The seventh day, still no Spongebob. Sandy wasn't worried, but she was confused since she thought that Spongebob wouldn't want to miss the final day of the competition. She and Larry now had to run a very difficult obstacle course; it was not only difficult to run, but also difficult to describe. Sandy did even better than her best, as she decided to win the competition more for Spongebob than to wind up in the movie. She won, obviously, and after dealing with the movie contract and the fans decided to go to the Krusty Krab to look for Spongebob.

When she got there she was shocked: Squidward was working the grill!

"Squidward? What are you doing back there?" Sandy asked when she got up to the register.

"Hey, just because I'm not as good a cook as Spongebob doesn't mean I'm a failure as one." Squidward frowned defensively, obviously misunderstanding Sandy's question.

"Where's Spongebob?" Sandy asked.

"How should I know, do I look like the little barnacle-head's keeper?" Squidward retorted.

"Watch it Squidward, Spongebob is **not** a barnacle-head." Sandy glared back.

"Look, go ask Mr. Krabs will ya? I'm busy." Squidward jabbed a tentacle towards Mr. Krabs's office; as Sandy headed there she overheard Squidward mutter: "Geez, everytime he disappears on us I have to work the grill...thank goodness I learned how to cook Krabby Patties without ruining them otherwise I'd be up to my Easter Island Head in complaining customers..."

Sandy knocked on the office door.

"Come in." She heard Mr. Krabs say.

She went inside.

"Sandy? What are you doing here?" Mr. Krabs asked.

"I'm here looking for Spongebob." Sandy explained.

"You mean he wasn't at the competition today?"

"No, and he wasn't there yesterday or the day before either."

"Oh dear...I haven't seen him since we walked home after the last day of the Krusty Krab Stand."

"What?" Sandy gasped, now very worried.

Squidward then suddenly appeared at the door.

"Mr. Krabs, do we serve snails?" He asked.

"As customers or as food? As food no and as customers I have no idea, we never had a snail for a customer before." Mr. Krabs shrugged.

"Meow."

Startled, Sandy and Mr. Krabs looked behind Squidward around to find Gary on Spongebob's bike!

"Gary? What in tarnation are you doing here?" Sandy asked.

"Meow."

"What did he say?" Mr. Krabs asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, I've learned a little of Gary's language but I'm nowhere near as good as Spongebob." Sandy frowned. "All I got was 'Spongebob' and 'in trouble'...oh no!"

Gary went on top of Sandy's helmet so that she could sit on Spongebob's bike.

"Hang on little dude, I'm coming!" She said as she pedaled out of the restaurant.

She continued going until she reached Spongebob's house. She jumped of the bike and tried to open the front door, but it was locked. Gary got down off Sandy, went through the pet flap, and opened the door from the inside. Sandy was impressed.

"You are one clever snail." She said before running upstairs.

"Meow."

"Bedroom, got it." Sandy said as she headed for Spongebob's bedroom.

When she got inside she saw Spongebob lying there pale and looking depressed.

"Spongebob?" She said as she touched his arm.

"Sandy...?" He said weakly; he opened his eyes a little. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be out celebrating your win?"

"How did you know I won?"

"Of course you won, no one is better than you."

"Oh." Sandy blushed, a little flattered. "No, I'm not celebrating yet, I couldn't without you. Actually I've been wondering why you haven't been to the competition these last three days."

"I can't get up...too weak...the pain..." Spongebob groaned, clutching his chest.

"Pain?" Sandy was really worried. "From what?"

"Aren't you with Larry?"

"No, no I'm not." Sandy shook her head, confused.

Now Spongebob looked confused.

"But I thought that you two were together." He said.

"No, he did try to ask me out officially last night but I turned him down." Sandy said, still looking worried.

Spongebob actually started to look better, he even stopped clutching his chest.

"Really?" He smiled.

"Yes, but why would you care about...?" Sandy stopped, suddenly thinking of the only reason why she dating Larry would hurt Spongebob. "You love me, don't you?"

Spongebob's smiled faded, and now he looked nervous.

"Y-yes." He forced out, becoming scared.

Then, to both his delight and confusion, Sandy was smiling at him.

"I turned Larry down because there are two things I care about more than strong muscles, and they are a strong brain and, more importantly, a strong heart." Sandy put a hand to Spongebob's heart, which was throbbing as if it were in pain. "And you have the strongest heart I've ever known."

Spongebob became emotional.

"You mean you...?" He guessed happily, suddenly looking like his old self.

Sandy nodded.

"I love you too." She said.

They couldn't kiss, due to Sandy's helmet, but they did hug. Sandy felt Spongebob's heart speed up, and hers did as well.

"I thought you would never return my feelings." Spongebob said as a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Why not? You are the friendliest creature under the sea." Sandy said. "Not to mention your loyalty is impressive, and you making it to Shell City and back when others died...well, that proves that a strong heart is more important than strong muscles. Also, the way you've cared for me in the past...I just knew that you're the only one who can love me unconditionally."

"You've got that right, you're the only thing I like more than the Krusty Krab. Well not thing, more like 'only one', but..."

"I know what you meant." Sandy chuckled.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes, then Spongebob's smile dropped as he pulled away.

"You know there's only one problem with us becoming a couple." He said sadly.

Sandy nodded sadly, knowing what Spongebob was talking about.

"We have to think of something, I love you and want to be with you." Sandy said. "Maybe I can invent something that will allow both of us to breathe both air and water."

"Maybe, either way I hope it works out." Spongebob put a hand to Sandy's cheek...or at least tried to, it only went as far as her helmet. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Sandy blushed again, knowing what Spongebob meant.

"You love me that much?" She smiled.

"Nothing has gotten in the way of my love for you." Spongebob smiled back. "Back when I thought I was going to be the King of Karate I was even hoping that you would be my queen...I didn't do a good job of getting around to it I'll admit."

"Well, I wouldn't have minded being your queen as long as you dropped the arrogance." Sandy chuckled. "But still, I guess in a way I am your queen since you are the King of Karate in my book and I'm the one who taught you most of your moves."

"Yeah...I am sorry for the way I acted."

"Aw shoot, that's all in the past."

They continued hanging out that day, except they moved downstairs so that they could both sit on the couch. Before they did Spongebob remembered that Mr. Krabs didn't know why he was absent so he called him and explained the situation. Mr. Krabs was relieved that Spongebob was all right, but told him to show up for work the next day.

"Aye-aye Captain." Spongebob saluted.

He and Sandy then continued to talk.


	4. A Celebration Leads to a Discovery

When it got close to nighttime Spongebob remembered that Sandy still hadn't celebrated her winning the competition, and now it was too late for a party. Sandy didn't care, at that moment she only wanted to celebrate with Spongebob. Spongebob smiled, and then got an idea: they could celebrate at Goofy Goobers, where Sandy had never been. She had been wanting to try the place out, but she felt awkward about it since it was mostly a kids' place. However, now she didn't care, especially since she was going as a guest of one of their best customers. They went, and a few fishes there stared at her at first but when they saw that she was with Spongebob they went back to their own thing. Spongebob introduced Sandy to the Triple Gooberberry Sundaes, only this time he ate more politely and didn't overindulge. Sandy had a blast, and was happily embarrassed when Spongebob honored her on stage:

"Everyone, before Goofy Goober comes out I'd like a round of applause to the prettiest and strongest creature under the sea, Sandy Cheeks, the winner of the Muscle Mounters Competition!"

Most of the other customers saw her win, so they happily obliged. The rest of the customers only applauded out of politeness. Spongebob then left the stage so that Goofy Goober could come out and perform his song.

"Spongebob, you didn't have to do that." Sandy blushed heavily.

"Maybe, but I wanted to." Spongebob smiled, sitting down next to her. "You deserve this and more."

Sandy hugged him.

"I may be the prettiest and strongest creature under the sea, but you're the handsomest and kindest." She said.

Patrick suddenly arrived and saw them hug.

"Sandy? I never expected to see you here." He said.

"Oh, I'm here as Spongebob's guest, we're celebrating me winning the competition." Sandy explained.

"Oh." Patrick didn't care about the competition, but was glad that Sandy had won. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Patrick, there's something else you should know." Spongebob said. "Er, we probably should take it outside, don't want to disturb Goofy Goober."

"Right." Sandy nodded.

"Okay." Patrick shrugged.

They went outside; fortunately, in Spongebob and Sandy's opinion, they were alone.

"Patrick, Sandy and I are dating." Spongebob said.

There was a few moments pause as this sank into Patrick's brain. When it reached there he got a shocked look on his face.

"You two are dating?" Patrick gasped.

"Yes but don't freak out, this isn't going to affect you and Spongebob hanging out." Sandy quickly said. "In fact you two will probably have more time during the day since Spongebob and I will be hanging out at night at restaurants or movies or such."

"Oh, okay." Patrick was relieved. "Congratulations tiger." He winked to Spongebob. "So when's the big day?"

"Pat, please, we haven't figured out how we're going to handle the fact that I breathe water and she breathes air yet." Spongebob said. "One step at a time, okay?"

"All right, but the wedding better not be a play like last time."

"Relax, it won't. And sorry for not telling you but we didn't tell the priest either, we wanted it to be authentic looking."

"Uh...Spongebob, wouldn't that mean you two...?" Patrick looked awkward.

"Nah, we weren't able to finish the play, remember?" Sandy shook her head. "It doesn't count."

"Oh."

The three of them then decided to walk home. Sandy was first, and she and Spongebob hugged again before saying good-night. Spongebob and Patrick then said good-night when they reached their block. Before going to bed...

"Okay Gary, you don't even have to say it." Spongebob said. "You were right, I guess Sandy and I are meant to be. Good-night Gare-bear."

"Meow."


	5. A Magical Solution

The next day, Spongebob went back to work. Sandy spent the day trying to invent something that would allow her or Spongebob to breathe both water and air but she had no luck. Fortunately for her, shooting for the film wouldn't start until a couple weeks from then, so she had plenty of time. A few days passed, and she had invented zilch. Then she remembered something: King Neptune can perform powerful magic.

"Wait a minute, if King Neptune can turn a crab into a human boy, then maybe he can help me and Spongebob." Sandy said to herself. "It's worth a shot."

Sandy put on her suit and went over to King Neptune's castle faster than a roadrunner on a spit over a campfire. Obviously she couldn't enter willy-nilly, as all kingdoms are well guarded at least at the front entrance.

"Please tell King Neptune that Sandy Cheeks, Spongebob's girlfriend, is here to ask for an important favor." Sandy said politely.

The guards at first looked surprised, possibly because they didn't expect Spongebob to date a land creature, and then one of them swam inside. When he came back he said that Sandy was allowed in, so the gate was raised and Sandy was escorted to the throne room. There she saw King Neptune and Princess Mindy. The other King Neptune and his family were gods, and had no relation to this King Neptune or to Mindy (the mortal King Neptune was named after the god one, if that explains the confusion).

"Sandra Cheeks, welcome." King Neptune smiled. "I heard from my guard that you are Spongebob's girlfriend?"

"Yes your majesty, we started dating last week." Sandy bowed...since she couldn't curtsy in her suit.

"Congratulations, you are a very lucky girl." Mindy smiled, swimming up to Sandy and hugging her. "Spongebob is a wonderful guy."

"He sure is-hey wait a minute..." Sandy frowned suspiciously.

"Oh relax, I don't think of Spongebob that way." Mindy chuckled, breaking free. "I'm still looking for the right guy myself...just don't tell Patrick that, I don't think he could take it."

"Yeah, but how will you break it to him when you do find the right guy?" Sandy asked.

"I don't know, I haven't figured it out yet." Mindy shrugged.

"Well, you'll think of something...but back to Sandy, you said you needed a favor?" King Neptune asked.

"Well, actually it's for both me **and** Spongebob." Sandy said.

"Wonderful, I've been trying to think of a way to repay him for saving my crown." King Neptune smiled. "What is the favor?"

"If you can, could you do a spell that would allow me and Spongebob to breathe both air and water?" Sandy asked. "That's the only problem with our relationship, our difference in breathing."

"*Hmmm*, well, it is a tough order..." King Neptune thought it over.

"Daddy, don't you have that one spell? You know, the one where you can do almost whatever you want to someone and his or her true love?" Mindy reminded him.

"Huh? Oh yes, of course!" King Neptune snapped his fingers. "Haven't used that one in so long that I almost forgot about it... Anyway, yes, I believe that spell will do the trick."

At that, King Neptune stood up and raised his triton. A glow appeared at the points of the triton, but didn't leave it. When the glow stopped King Neptune sat back down looking satisfied.

"Uh, nothing happened." Sandy said, confused. "It didn't work."

"Actually it did work, it's just that the wielder of the triton is the only one who can see it work." King Neptune explained. "Sometimes that spell has to be performed before the true loves know of each other so it has to be done in secret. In this case, I performed the spell for Spongebob, so all that's left is to see if you can breathe underwater."

"Oh."

Sandy, after taking a deep breath, cautiously removed her helmet and tried to breathe underwater. She could! The spell worked! This also meant...

"So...I'm Spongebob's true love." She smiled happily.

"All right!" Mindy pumped a fist. "You've got to let him know as soon as possible, this is fantastic! And be sure to give him my congratulations too."

"I sure will, thank you your majesty." Sandy said.

"No thanks are needed, anything for the bravest creature in my kingdom or his friends." King Neptune smiled. "And tell him that I want my daughter and I to be honored guests at your wedding."

"I will after he proposes." Sandy nodded.

She then left, running out of the castle, on her way to tell Spongebob...when she stopped. She had gotten a better idea. Plus, she forgot to put her helmet back on. To her relief no one saw, which was good because she wanted Spongebob to be the first to find out.


	6. Spongebob Finds Out

The next day, Spongebob left to go shopping. Mr. Krabs and his mom were going to see Pearl perform in a school play so he had closed the Krusty Krab for the morning. When Spongebob closed his door he saw a note attached to it. The note read:

'Spongebob, meet me at my treedome as soon as possible. And you don't need your water helmet. Love Sandy.'

"I don't need my...that means Sandy discovered a way to make us both breathe water and air!" Spongebob realized happily; he ran down to Sandy's place. "I'm ready, to breathe air, I'm ready, to breathe air, I'm ready, to breathe air,..."

He continued as he ran to the Treedome. Patrick was still asleep so he didn't overhear Spongebob, but Squidward was already awake so he did.

"He's finally lost it." He said to himself before beginning to practice his clarinet.

Spongebob went into the airlock. Since the second door was always well locked she always kept the first door unlocked. To his surprise there were no mechanical devices for him to put on.

"Uh Sandy, where is your new invention?" Spongebob said on the intercom.

"There are none." Sandy said. "Hold on."

The water started to drain...

"Uh Sandy...Sandy?" Spongebob said nervously.

After the water entirely drained Spongebob found, to his surprise, that he could breathe air! Sandy buzzed him in.

"What...how can I?" Spongebob asked, really confused.

Sandy explained the whole story.

"A spell? But I didn't feel anything!" Spongebob was still confused.

Sandy explained that too.

"Oh, now I get it." Spongebob smiled. "Hold on, but you said that it worked on both me and my...wait a minute, can you...?"

Sandy nodded happily. Spongebob had never looked happier. And, finally, they kissed. They also looked as if they were never going to let go. A few fishes outside the dome noticed this and, shocked, spread the word across town. For most of Bikini bottom it was hard to tell what they were more shocked about: Spongebob surviving a waterless dome or he and Sandy kissing. Larry however, it was obvious: Spongebob and Sandy kissing. It was also obvious for Patrick too: Spongebob surviving without any water. Later, when Mr. Krabs found out, he was on Patricks side of the shock. Pearl was almost tied, though leaned a little more towards Mr. Krabs and Patrick's side.

When Spongebob and Sandy stopped kissing, they saw everyone staring at them.

"So that's how a pet goldfish in a bowl feels." Sandy remarked. "All right come on now, show's over, break it up!" She waved her arms at the others.

Since everyone knew of her strength, no one stopped to argue.

"Well, that's one way for the town to find out." Spongebob shrugged. "Personally, I'm glad it saves me the trouble of announcing it."

"Same here." Sandy nodded in agreement. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"*Hmmm*...maybe we can hang out at Glove World?" Spongebob suggested. "Try the Tunnel of Glove?"

"Sure, I'd love too."

And they did.


	7. The Reactions and Results

Now that Sandy could breathe water and Spongebob could breathe air they hung out more often. Sandy enjoyed being able to eat underwater, while Spongebob enjoyed not needing the helmet. Most of Bikini Bottom found their relationship weird, even a little wrong, but that ended when Mindy decided to visit Spongebob and his friends. She saw some of the fishes muttering about Spongebob and Sandy amongst themselves and scolded them, stating that it was her father who gave Sandy and Spongebob the ability to breathe both water and air. After that, all of Bikini Bottom decided to accept the relationship (mostly to avoid risking King Neptune's wrath, even though he mellowed after the Shell City incident).

Sandy being able to breathe water helped her greatly during filming. Since she didn't need her suit anymore she could do limberer moves, which was good because her role was a native of the foreign land Buffiano visited who ended up being his temporary partner during a case. Buffiano then invited Sandy's character to become his permanent partner, and the director asked Sandy to become a permanent member of the cast (especially after how popular the movie was). Sandy agreed on the condition that her character never becomes Bufiano's girlfriend, as she didn't want to risk hurting Spongebob. The director agreed, deciding that another 'native', or Spongebob's character, could join the group as her boyfriend instead. Sandy agreed, and so did Spongebob after he found out. This time becoming a star didn't affect Spongebob, as he already had bad experiences with it.

Patrick was supportive of the relationship, especially since Spongebob never neglected hanging out with him. Heck, even on Valentine's Day Spongebob made time for both of them. He hung out with Patrick during the day, and then went out with Sandy at night. Mr. Krabs also was okay with the relationship, as Spongebob was now happier than ever before and Mr. Krabs had noticed in the past that the happier Spongbeob was, the harder working he was. Mrs. Puff was neutral at first, but then Sandy ended up tutoring Spongebob at driving by letting him practice outside Bikini Bottom in her boatmobile. Spongebob learned to control his nerves and impulses while being instructed by Sandy, mostly because he wanted Sandy to be proud of him, and when he took his next driving test he passed! After that Mrs. Puff became one of their biggest supporters. Spongebob's parents were at first caught off guard, but accepted their relationship as they knew Sandy personally and liked her. They were especially grateful to her when they found out about her helping Spongebob get his license. Gary of course was one of Spongebob and Sandy's biggest supporters. Pearl was also caught off guard, but eventually accepted it when she got to know Sandy better.

Larry got over Sandy not being his girlfriend quickly, mostly because there were dozens of other girls who fawned over him. Squidward was indifferent, he was a little jealous since he wasn't lucky in the love department but on the other hand he never wanted anything bad to happen to their relationship. Despite his dislike of Spongebob he always hated to see him devastated, as proven in a few episodes. Plankton was also indifferent to the relationship, since he had a computer for a wife he didn't find Spongebob and Sandy dating odd but due to Spongebob being on Mr. Krabs side he wasn't ecstatic about it either.

A couple years passed, and Spongebob finally got the courage to propose to Sandy. They went to the place where they first met (when Sandy was fighting that clam) and had a picnic, and then later he took out a pearl ring out of his pocket and proposed. Sandy of course accepted. They prepared for the wedding, this time a real one. King Neptune and Mindy were honored guests, though they had to sit off to the side due to their height. All their families and closest friends were front-row guests, except for Patrick and Gary (the best men). No rings were exchanged, as it wasn't part of the undersea custom, but Spongebob later did give Sandy a ring made out of a hollowed and decorated acorn shell.

Sandy and Spongebob moved into Spongebob's pineapple, as Sandy's treedome was now going to be mostly a lab. Spongebob got a new bed, one that was shorter but also wider, and Sandy moved most of her exercise equipment to the back of the pineapple. A year later, they had a son, a squirrel, who was physically like Sandy but had inherited his father's love of fast food. Two years later they had a daughter, this time a sponge, who was physically like Spongebob but became the second smartest creature in Bikini Bottom (after her mother of course).

King Neptune and Mindy ended up visiting Bikini Bottom more often than even they had ever expected. Mindy especially, to Patrick's delight, since she had become very close to Sandy and Spongebob and even became a sort of aunt to their kids. Eventually, Mindy found the right guy for her too, a merman from another kingdom (not a prince though, actually he was a peasant but King Neptune allowed the relationship to continue). Patrick was at first crushed, but got over it after Spongebob explained that there was more to love than just being attracted to each other. There was also personality details, and how the couple handled hanging out. Patrick then realized that the only romantic feeling he had for Mindy was for her appearance, as he and Mindy had never really hung out due to having too many personality differences.

Spongebob had never been happier, and Sandy too felt like she was in heaven. Oh, and don't worry about their different lifespans. King Neptune secretly conjured a spell that allowed Sandy to live as long as Spongebob, so Sandy and Spongebob both got to live for a long time in endless bliss.


End file.
